Frederick Manfred (1912–1994)

The most compelling aspect of 'Conquering Horse' is that similar to Welch's 'Fools Crow' it offers a comprehensive insight into Native American esoterisms as well as psyche and worldview prior to the advent of Europeanisation. But whereas Welch's treatments often have a labored dimension about them (given he deals with cross-cultural interactions in the mould of alien vs. native), Manfred avoids all such pitfalls to render a simplistic motif of an uninterrupted and flowing life untouched by New World paradigms.

'Conquering Horse' is a relation of a quest. A quest undertaken by the lusty warrior No Name who is the second son of the great chief Redbird and is to prove his mettle to the Yankton nation he has been born in. We witness his sexual foibles with the maiden Leaf, her mysterious vanishing, his vision of a quest and his rescue of Leaf and realization of his vision.

This book, it must be remembered, was first written in 1959 ergo Manfred's antiquated prose in some parts. But the entire narrative structure holds up to the test of time with imagery being the most engrossing bait which lures in the reader.

'Conquering Horse' avoids the otherwise cliched trivialization of the white man vs. the Indian or the eco-friendly woke Native relations we find in similar novels. There is only one reference to the white man in No Name's world and that is the first and final say on the matter.

Ultimately, one is imparted a profound lesson by this entire fable; life is simple, life flows and it will continue to flow and be simple long after we are gone. Make sure you have enough time on your hands after reading this book because it will leave you musing on existentiality.… (mer)

Very interesting book -- I had no idea why the attack happened at the beginning of the movie or after reading a different account of the story -- but this book tells all. It is recommended by the South Dakota travel site. It was published in 1954. Now I have an entirely different opinion of the movie and Hugh Glass.

The author, Frederick Manfred, spent 10 years researching the story and even crawling areas with his leg tied up with sticks and vines. He went to South Dakota to gather gravel, plants, and other natural things along the path Hugh Glass traveled. He crawled through his yard in Bloomington, MN, as well, as his family watched. He ate ants and grubs.

Really interesting account and I feel like I understood little of the real story before reading this book.
… (mer)